Proliferative activity, lectin-dependent and natural cytotoxicity in blood, lymph node and spleen from patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Mononuclear cells and T-lymphocytes of the blood, spleen and lymph nodes from 48 patients with Hodgkin disease (HD) and blood donors were tested in assays for lectin-dependent (LD) and natural killer (NK) cytotoxic activity. On average, peripheral blood T cell lectin-dependent cytotoxicity differs from that of the donors. However, cytotoxic activity appears to be dependent on the stage of disease; in the IY stage LD cytotoxicity was decreased 2-fold. The lectin-dependent cytotoxicity was also dependent on the histological type of disease and the lowest level (50% of the control level) was associated with the lymphoid depletion type. The cytotoxic activity of T-lymphocytes from the affected areas of the patients' spleen was more marked than that of the unaffected areas. Spleen cell cytotoxicity showed no other correlations. Cytotoxicity of lymphocytes from the affected lymph nodes was drastically lower than activity of blood and spleen lymphocytes. NK activity of the patients' blood and spleen lymphocytes was twice as low as the control level (healthy donors) and did not correlate with stage and/or histological type of disease. The proliferative activity of lymphocytes from 33 HD patients was tested in vitro using allogeneic mononuclear cells from healthy donors or HD patients and/or PHA as stimulators. The response of patients' lymphocytes to alloantigens appeared to be much less affected than response to polyclonal mitogen. Thus, the results obtained by us demonstrate signs of stimulation of the lymphoid system against a background of general immunosuppression in HD.